Cruz Hewitt has secured his place in the Wimbledon boys' final after defeating 11th seed Thijs Boogaard 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinal on Court 18, the site of Wimbledon's longest match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. Hewitt, a 17-year-old Sydney prospect, remains undefeated in straight sets throughout the tournament.
Hewitt is the first Australian to reach the boys' final since Alex de Minaur, now Australia's national No.1, achieved the feat a decade ago. He is aiming to become the first Australian to win the title since Luke Saville in 2011. Hewitt has risen to No.606 in the world rankings after competing in lower professional tiers.
In the final, Hewitt will face 16-year-old American qualifier Jordan Lee on Sunday night (AEST).
Davis Cup captain and 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, Cruz's father, was courtside to support his son, celebrating the 75-minute victory alongside family and a large entourage. Cruz noted, "He's happy with how far I've come, with my mentality, my game style. Yeah, he's pretty happy." He added, "I think that sounds pretty good. But obviously one more job's not done, so I hope that happens … but we'll see."
Hewitt's semifinal opponent, Dutch player Thijs Boogaard, had recently pushed former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev to a final-set tiebreaker at a grass-court event in Rosmalen. Despite this challenge, Hewitt secured the win in straight sets.
Often training with his father, Cruz warmed up for his recent matches against British wild card Arthur Fery, whose run was ended by Alexander Zverev.
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